New Beginnings

Hello everyone – I’m Lizzie Ingram, the new visitor officer intern for Fairburn Ings for the next six months.

I’ve spent the last few months down at RSPB Coombes Valley in Staffordshire, which is a woodland reserve, so there’s a lot I need to get up to speed on for Fairburn! My first couple of days here have been spent going for wanders through the reserve, getting to know the team, and discussing the things I’ll be doing whilst I’m here.

Rosebay Willowherb along the Discovery Trail

As Wetherby is my hometown, Fairburn is my local reserve, so I have fond memories of pond dipping here as a youngster. I haven’t been back in years though, so it’s really interesting to see how much it’s changed over time.

View from Pickup Hide

My first day saw beautiful sunshine and an unbelievable number of ruddy darters and other dragonflies zipping through the air up and down the tree line along the paths. Around every corner were speckled wood butterflies too, which would occasionally come to light on the oak leaves to sunbathe.

Ruddy Darter image bySteve Knell (rspb-images.com)

I’m really looking forward to getting to know the reserve better, especially as we progress into autumn and winter so I can see how the landscape and the wildlife on it change with the seasons. I’ll do my best to keep you all up to date with our recent sightings – even if it means wandering around with an ID book every day to identify the waders!

Have you seen anything exciting on the reserve lately? Please let us know and what you spot could be in our next recent sightings blog!

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